Attack on Pearl Harbor

The Attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on 7 December 1941 when the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the US Navy base of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, intending to destroy the US Pacific Fleet and its carriers in harbor. Although the aircraft carriers were not present in the harbor, the Japanese were fortunate to find the majority of the feet in the harbor, and they sunk six American ships and damaged thirteen other ships, and they also destroyed 188 US Air Force aircraft at their airfields. Poor communication between the American mainland and Hawaii led to the Japanese having the element of surprise, and the US suffered a severe loss. Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and Major-General Walter C. Short, along with several other high-ranking American officers, resigned or were relieved from command after the disaster, and the United States went to war with Japan; Nazi Germany and Italy declared war on the USA the next day, bringing America into World War II.